The Eternal Winter
by captainhooker
Summary: Takes place right after the season 3 finale. My take on what will happen next. Primarily focus is on Captain Swan. How will all the characters end up dealing with Elsa's arrival and what will her story be?
1. Chapter 1

Emma didn't move as Regina stormed out of the diner, the door slamming behind her. The same expression stayed plastered to Emma's face as she stared after her. No one else in the diner seemed to notice this whole exchange, and Robin, Marion, and Roland were sitting down, talking as a family. Clearly Regina was the last thing from their minds at the moment.

Emma felt Killian come up behind her, but she still didn't move. She felt dizzy, as if she wasn't fully there. Killian's voice sounded like it was coming from a distance. "Emma? Emma, love." He said, his voice laced with something…sorrow? Disappointment? "Love, come on. It's time to go." He wound his arm around her waist and pulled her toward the back of the diner where the door was that lead rooms upstairs. She let him lead her away from the room where everyone was still so happy. The laughter and hum of chatter faded as Killian pushed the door open with his good hand and ushered her through with the other arm. She walked as if she was in a trance, still not really registering what was going on.

They walked to the stairway that led upstairs, where he sat her down and sat down beside her. He reached out with his good hand to turn her head toward him, and he held it there, stroking her jaw with his thumb, the cool metal of his rings pressed against the skin of her face. "Love, it's okay. It's not your fault. It will be okay."

She turned her head away as tears began to fall from her eyes. She covered her face with her hands. "I never meant to hurt anyone. I didn't mean to. I…Regina…" She mumbled through her crying.

"Shh…" Killian said, rubbing her back. "I know. It isn't your fault. I know you, you wouldn't leave an innocent person to die."

"But she was supposed to. I knew changing the past would be bad, but I did it anyway. Why? Why couldn't I have left her?" She slammed her hand against the wooden stair, wincing in pain.

He reached out to unfold her fist and rub his fingers over her hand."Imagine how Robin would have reacted when he found out that Regina killed his past lover. That would not have done any favors for their relationship. You saved Regina from that fate, one that may have been unforgivable." The sincerity in his eyes was unmistakable.

"But—" Emma protested.

Killian interrupted her. "You know he would have found out. That would not have been a secret forever. Now that part of history doesn't even exist. Trust me love, you've helped Regina, not hurt her."

"But Marion. He loves her. I destroyed Regina's happiness. Just like my mother."

Killian tenderly reached up to wipe the tears from Emma's cheeks. "Maybe not. He thought that Marion was dead. And she is still the father of his child. That is the happiness you saw. But Robin is a different man now. Marion might not be the right woman for him anymore."

"He loves Marion. You know he still loves her."

"Yes, I don't doubt it. But he loves Regina too. You know that. You see, I still love my Milah. If she suddenly appeared here today, I would still love her. But not in the same way as I did. I am a different man than I used to be. Maybe Marion was never right for Robin. Maybe Milah was never right for me. It just took us longer to find those that bring out the best in us."

"Hook—"

He shook his head. "No love. Let me talk. If Milah was to appear right here, right now, I would be happy. But I would choose you! Sometimes it takes a while for us to become the people we want to be, and find the right people to share those lives with. But it happens. Regina and Robin and Marion, they're adults. They will figure it out."

Emma was still caught up on something he said. "You'd choose me? Over your Milah? That means…"

Hook looked at her seriously, as he did outside when she'd asked about his ship. "Aye. I love you, Emma. Truly."

Emma leaned in to kiss him. Their lips met and he kissed her back with more passion than he had just about an hour ago. He pulled her into his lap without breaking the kiss so that he was straddling his legs. She ground her hips into him and he groaned, but broke off the kiss and pushed her away, although she could tell it took a lot of will power.

"It's getting late. You should go find Henry," Killian told her softly, stroking her cheek. His eyes were warm, but filled with restraint.

Emma sighed. "You're right. Of course." She stood up, lacing her fingers through his, pulling on his arm for him to follow. They walked back out into the diner, while Killian rubbed soothing circles on the back of her hand. She knew that this was sending the message to everyone that they were a couple, but she finally didn't mind that.

She caught Henry's eye from across the room and nodded to him. He was talking to Archie, but he hugged him and said goodbye before crossing the room to reach Emma and Killian. "Hey Killian. Hi mom," Henry said, smiling. He stepped into Emma's one armed hug, as she didn't let go of Killian's hand.

"Ready for bed, Henry?"

He nodded, walking toward the door that lead to upstairs. Killian and Emma followed behind.

When they reached the door to Emma and Henry's room, Emma unlocked it. "I'll be in in a second, Henry," Emma told him, holding the door as Henry entered the room. She held the door with her foot as she turned around, finally releasing Killian's hand to lace both her arms around his neck. She pressed her lips against his once again. He smelled so good she could probably keep pulling at his lips, sliding her tongue through his mouth, pressing her body against his forever, but she forced herself away after a bit. She saw the lust she felt echoed in his eyes. Breathing hard, she smiled slightly. "See you tomorrow, Killian. And thanks again. For everything."

He smiled back. "Goodnight Emma." And he turned and headed down the hall to his room as Emma followed Henry into hers.

As she lay in the bed next to Henry's after taking a much needed shower, brushing her teeth, and putting on her familiarly comfortable shorts and tank top, she didn't have as much trouble falling asleep as she thought. _I must be tired from the journey_, Emma thought to herself as her heavy eye lids closed. The curtains were drawn, and a lot of the town now slept, for it was after midnight. So no one noticed the drop in temperature and the snow that had begun to fall.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm sorry for any mistakes. I am trying really hard to keep the characters in character and all reviews are helpful. I'm just going to say that for my purposes, no one really noticed Robin and Marion's reunion, and no one knows who Marion is, so no one except Emma and Killian knows about this problem for now. I'd really like to try to update once a day, but I doubt that will actually happen…so look forward to a few times a week!**

Emma couldn't believe her eyes. She stood, dumbfounded, outside Granny's, up to her knees in snow. It was spring…almost summer. It was not supposed to be snowing. Not that it couldn't snow that late in Maine, but it was certainly unusual. And it was freezing.

Henry had run out into the street to look around. "Mom! There's so much snow! It's like the middle of winter!"

Emma smiled at him, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right about this. She decided to walk down to Mary Margaret and David's house to see if they needed help shoveling out or something.

After trudging through the snow in her clothes, which weren't very practical for the weather, she was soaked and freezing. Her leather jacket didn't do much for the cold, and leather boots didn't keep the moisture out as much as she would have thought. Henry must have been soaking wet in his jeans and sneakers, but he didn't seem fazed. As she reached the door and knocked, she suddenly wondered if it was too early. Maybe they wouldn't be up or she would be interrupting….

The door flung open in her face. A baby cry gave Emma the urge to just turn around and leave, but Mary Margaret had already ushered Emma and Henry inside with the arm that wasn't holding the baby. "Emma thank goodness you're here! David went down to the sheriff station early this morning to find people help shoveling out and plowing the roads. Neal hasn't slept at all, he's been crying all night. Can you just hold him a second? Please?" She didn't wait for Emma to respond. Suddenly the crying baby was in her arms.

Emma touched his face. "Don't cry Neal. It's okay. Do you like snow? Would you like to look out the window?" Her words didn't faze the crying baby. He maybe even cried harder as she took him toward the window to see the snow, still steadily falling.

"Here, let me try!" Henry said eagerly. He walked closer so he was in front of Emma and the baby, and Emma tilted his head to see Henry. "Neal look!" Henry said, making a funny face. Neal immediately stopped crying and looked at Henry curiously.

It struck Emma then just how unfamiliar this whole thing was. She had a kid, but she had no idea how to raise a baby. She finally felt like she slightly understood what Mary Margaret had said in Neverland. She wondered if she had maybe missed out on an essential part of being a mother. She couldn't even make a baby stop crying! Then again, she wasn't sure she had ever, or would ever, be the kind of person that could stay at home with a crying baby.

Mary Margaret poked her head back into the room. "He stopped crying! What did you do?"

Henry grinned. He was proud of himself. "I made a funny face."

Mary Margaret smiled, but the lines of exhaustion were clear in her face. "Well good job Henry. I think Neal might have just found a perfect babysitter!"

Henry looked slightly horrified at that idea, and Emma and Mary Margaret laughed. They all walked into the kitchen now, Emma still holding the now-smiling baby. "So what do you think of this snow?"

Mary Margaret shrugged, taking the tea kettle off the stove and pouring them each a cup of tea. "It is weird. Not that it hasn't happened before, but it is certainly unusual."

Emma frowned. "Unusual. But usually, in this town, unusual is typically caused by something bad. In all my experience. What are the odds that Killian and I would get back from the past and close the time portal, and suddenly it's snowing feet in May. Seems a little bit suspicious to me." She didn't want to admit that she really suspected this snow had something to do with Regina's anger toward her.

Mary Margaret looked thoughtful. "It is odd for sure…"

Emma thought for a minute, taking a sip of the hot tea Mary Margaret had given her, careful not to spill any on baby Neal.

"Oops, sorry! I'll take him!" Mary Margaret reached out to take back the now calm baby.

Henry was looking out the window at the falling snow. Emma quickly formulated her plan in her head. "Henry, you're going to wait with Mary Margaret for a bit, okay? I'm going to go check out the place where the time portal was just to see if there's anything weird going on there. Okay?"

Mary Margaret frowned. "No, Emma. You can't go alone. You don't know what's going on. It could be dangerous."

Emma rolled her eyes. "I'm sure it's nothing. David isn't here, and I have to go now. Let's just rule out the fact that something unnatural is causing this so we can move on with our lives, okay?"

"I still don't want you going alone," Mary Margaret protested.

"Mary Margaret. I am not a little kid. I am an adult. I actually have my own kid. So I think I can manage walking down the street to investigate an old barn. You would be horrified to know what I've done as a bail bondsperson if you're worried about this."

Suddenly a male voice came from the hallway. "She won't go alone. I'll go with her." Killian walked in the room. "Sorry Mary Margaret," He said offhand, "But you left the door open. You really should be more careful with a new baby in the house."

Emma turned to glare at him. "I do NOT need any help. I can do this on my own. I don't need someone to protect me."

Killian smiled that perfect smile that Emma couldn't resist. "Don't pretend like you don't want me around, love. You know you want my company."

Emma rolled her eyes, but followed him out of the room toward the door. "We won't be long."

They now neared the barn. Emma had crossed her arms and refused to look at Killian since they left Mary Margaret's house. She finally broke the silence. "I really don't need help. You don't need to follow me. I can handle myself."

Killian chuckled. "Oh, I know that, love. But I also know that you like my help. Don't go back to this silly charade of resistance you keep up."

Emma rolled her eyes, not for the first time that day. "I just like doing things myself. It's what I'm used to. Now let's just get this done." She strided toward the barn, but stopped when a flash of movement caught her eye from the edge of the yard. She quickly changed her path to walk closer to the figure standing on the other side of the farmhouse. She had on a blue dress, and her blond hair was in a braid. She looked young. Emma was sure she had never seen her in town before. "Hey! This is private property, you know! What are you doing out here in this storm?" Emma called across the yard.

The girl whipped her head around. "Do not come any closer. Please. I am dangerous." She said, just loud enough for Emma to hear from the distance. Her voice was high and it had an almost beautiful ring to it. She spoke like a royal from long ago would.

"Are you lost?" Emma tried again. "What's your name?" She ignored Killian tugging on her arm.

The girl backed up as they approached. "Please, do not get any closer." She folded her hands behind her back. "My name is Elsa. And am I lost? I guess you can say that." And all of a sudden huge chunks and spindles of ice were shooting toward Emma and Killian. Killian pushed Emma up against the farmhouse, covering her body with his as the ice pelted towards them. This was definitely not a normal storm.


	3. Chapter 3

"Elsa! Please stop! We don't want to hurt you!" Emma called from around the side of the house.

Killian grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the driveway where Emma's car was parked. The yellow bug had done surprisingly well in the snow, but he wasn't sure how fast it would be able to get them out of there. "Swan, it's time to go," He hissed under his breath. "We'll come back when we're more prepared for this. With some reinforcement perhaps."

As much as Emma didn't want to admit it, he was right. They would get killed if they stepped around the building. They knew nothing about this kind of monster. She gave in and let Killian pull her away. They took off running across the yard, being careful to stay away from the shooting ice on the other side of the house.

Killian got to the car first, as Emma was slowed by her now soaking wet boots. He held the door open as she got into the driver's seat. She was already backing down the driveway as Killian was settling in his seat and closing his door. They looked back toward Elsa one last time as Emma steered the car out onto the road. She was standing as still as a statue, her back to them. She appeared to be looking down, her shoulders slumped over.

Emma reluctantly tore her eyes away and back to the road. "So any idea who…or what… she is?"

Killian shook his head. "I've never heard of anything like her before. The enchanted forest typically isn't a very snowy place. Maybe in some parts, but I've never heard of a person causing the snow like that. Using it as a weapon."

"I wonder where she came from," Emma pondered, "And how she got there in the first place! I definitely did not bring her over in the time portal. No one can blame me for that!"

Killian chuckled. "I know, love. But there has to be some explanation. I doubt she showed up in the exact place of the time portal by chance. Maybe it reopened?"

"Possibly," Emma agreed. "I don't really know much about it. But you know who might be able to help us…"

Killian sighed. "Rumplestiltskin."

Mr. Gold's shop was deserted, like every other day. The bell rang when Killian and Emma entered, and Rumplestiltskin was standing behind the counter, right on cue. "And what brings these two lovers here today?" He said in his voice that made it sound like he wasn't all that curious at all. "Shouldn't you be shoveling out like everyone else in this town?"

Emma blushed slightly at the first question, but when she looked at Killian he didn't seem to look phased. "We have a question," She told him.

"Well ask away, although I can't promise that I can help you," Rumple replied.

"Have you ever heard of anyone named Elsa? She shoots ice…I think she may be the cause of this snowstorm. We just found her near where the time portal was," Emma explained.

Rumplestiltskin's face fell in shock. "I figured the storm wasn't normal but I never thought…Did you bring anything from my vault back with you?"

"No—"

"I shouldn't have asked," he interrupted. "Of course you did. That is why she is here. I met her long ago. She approached me thinking I had her sister or something foolish like that. When I said I couldn't help her, she tried to kill me with ice. So I stashed her in a jar and put her in my vault where she should have stayed forever!"

Emma looked back at Killian, who seemed to be in just as much of a shock as her. "But I didn't bring anything back. Why would I want to? You said everything in that vault was dangerous."

"You may not have meant to, but I can assure you, you brought her back." Rumplestiltskin said simply.

Killian frowned, stepping forward. "Well you surely can help us put her back in a jar and put her somewhere safe again, right?"

Rumplestiltskin smiled slightly. "So sorry, but that is not my problem."

"But she's going to cover the whole town in snow!" Emma protested.

"Not my problem." Rumple said again, giving the look that they should leave.

Emma sighed. She considered arguing, but she knew that was pointless. "Let's go Killian, he's not going to help us. But I think I might know someone who will."


	4. Chapter 4

"No…Emma you're not really going to ask Regina for help, love, are you?" Killian asked in an exasperated voice as Emma pulled the car into Regina's driveway.

Emma got out of the car. "Wait here. I'll be right back." She didn't need to look back to know that Killian had followed her. She knew he would. She knocked on the door and prepared for the wrath of Regina.

The door flung open suddenly. "If you're here to apologize, save your breath." Regina growled from the open doorway. She obviously hadn't calmed down any.

Emma pushed past Regina into the house, Killian following closely behind her. "Good thing that isn't the reason I'm here."

"Get out of my house," Regina hissed in reply.

Folding her arms across her chest, Emma ignored Regina's request. "You see the snow outside? Some woman named Elsa is causing it. Have you heard of her?"

An expression of shock flickered across Regina's face before the anger returned. "No I haven't."

"She's dangerous," Killian added, "We tried to talk to her this morning and she shot ice at us. She also said something about being lost."

"Rumple said that he put her in a bottle when she tried to kill him years ago, and somehow we…the time portal brought her back from his vault," Emma said.

Regina frowned. "I told you, I haven't heard of her. She must be from a completely different land. I can't help you."

Emma sighed and she and Killian turned to leave. As they were walking through the doorway, Emma turned around. "Regina, I am sorry." And then they returned to the street. "Killian, I think David might be enough reinforcement. But I want to update Mary Margaret and Henry."

Killian nodded. "Alright. I'll go get David from the sheriff station, and I'll meet you at Mary Margaret's."

Emma smiled. "Perfect. See you in a bit."

She turned to get into her car, but Killian stopped her, turning her face to touch his lips to hers briefly. "See you in a bit, love."

Emma smiled, climbing in the car and shutting the door behind her. She waved as she turned the car down the street.

As soon as Killian was out of view she shot down a side street to turn around, back in the direction of the farmhouse. She knew Killian would just say it was dangerous, but she had to talk to Elsa. She didn't get the impression that she was friendly, but she said she was lost, so maybe she just needed help.

When Emma walked down the driveway of the farmhouse for the second time that day, she realized the snow was already much deeper, and she was freezing. She looked around, and realized Elsa stood in the exact same spot they had left her before, only now there were much larger snowdrifts surrounding her.

"Elsa?" Emma called. "Elsa, please don't hurt me. I'm not here to hurt you."

She spun around, holding up her hand, ready to shoot more ice. "I told you to stay away. Do you have an army ready to ambush me? Because it won't work!"

Emma jumped aside just in time to avoid a column of ice. "I'm alone, I promise. I'm not here to hurt you. I just want to help. You said you were lost."

Elsa lowered her hands a couple inches. "Yes."

"Well, maybe we can help you get home. We have some powerful resources here." Emma explained, desperately trying to stay calm.

"I'm not leaving without my sister!" Elsa's voice echoed through the cool air.

Emma had to avoid more columns of ice, covering her head with her hands. "Elsa, I don't think your sister is in this land. But I will help you find her. I promise, I really will."

Elsa lowered her hands once again. "You sound sincere, but I don't know. You might be hiding her. With the man that trapped me in that bottle for so many years."

"I don't know why he did that. I have a feeling he was just scared of you. None of us here have ever heard of you though, none of us are holding your sister captive. What's her name?"

Elsa lowered her hands almost all the way. "Her name is Anna."

Emma frowned. "I've never heard of anyone named Anna. We don't have her here. What land are you from?"

"An evil man took her. I thought… She must be somewhere. I've been looking for so long…"

Emma repeated her question. "What land are you from?"

Elsa looked up, her eyes sad. "Arendelle. I'm from Arendelle. That is where I last saw my sister when she was taken and they sent me away. I've been trying to get back there for so many years. But alas, I found it is impossible to use a magic bean in a bottle. And now the bean is gone so I'm stuck here."

Emma's mouth was hanging open in shock. "You had a magic bean? I bet it's still in your bottle. We can get it out and go to Arendelle and look for your sister there. I can get help, you don't have to do this alone."

Else almost smiled, but quickly resumed her cautious face. "You would do that for me? I tried to kill you though."

"It's okay," Emma smiled. "We do crazy things when we are apart from the ones we love. Now let me gather some people. We'll leave tonight. To Arendelle."


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you (again!) so much for reviewing! I never expected anyone to review my first real story so I'm just so excited people are even reading it!**

Elsa decided to wait there, where she wouldn't cover anyone in snow by accident, so Emma left to gather people. Somewhat distracted, she was starting her car and shifting it into reverse before she noticed Killian sitting in the passenger seat. "Gah!"

Killian was frowning. "Why didn't you just tell me your plans, love? I could have gone with you. It was dangerous for you to come alone."

Emma let the breath out she had taken in from her shock. She resumed her driving, trying to answer as calmly as she could. "You wouldn't have agreed. I had to talk to her."

"It was dangerous!"

Emma turned to look at him. "I can handle myself. Plus, I'm fine. Look."

Killian still didn't smile. "Swan, you don't have to do this alone. And I don't just mean this, I mean anything."

Emma shrugged. "I told you, I'm fine. Thank you for your concern though. How did you know I was coming here?"

He sighed, smiling ever so slightly. "Open book, love. So what agreement did you come to, after she stopped shooting you with ice?"

Emma reached down to grab his hand and intertwine their fingers. She felt both of them let out the last of the tension they were each holding. "She was here looking for her sister. But she actually believes her sister is in a land called Arendelle. We have to help her get there Killian."

"And how do you think we're going to do that?"

"Well, she had a magic bean, but it was left in the bottle when she came out. So all I have to do is get it out for her, which I'm sure I can do with magic. And then we gather up a search party and head to Arendelle to help her get her sister back," Emma explained.

Killian groaned. "And the adventures never end."

"You don't have to come," Emma told him, "if you're going to complain."

"Aye, but you know I wouldn't miss it," he said.

Emma smiled. "Let's go gather up a search party and head to Arendelle, then!"

A couple hours later, everyone was gathered in Granny's. The news that something was going on had traveled quickly, so it didn't take much to gather a huge portion of the town. Everyone wanted to know what was going on. Even Regina and Rumplstiltskin had come, although Regina stood in a corner away from everyone else, and didn't look toward the booth where Marion and Robin sat with Roland. The diner had the grills fired up and Granny was serving hamburgers and French fries to everyone for lunch. It was like a party of nervousness and anticipation, not quite as cheerful as the party the night before.

Emma stood up on the chair she had been sitting on. "Okay, everyone, thank you for coming. If everyone could just quiet down for a few minutes…" Killian helped her out by hitting his hook against a water glass. The diner was in silence at once. "So as you all know, Storybrooke doesn't typically get this much snow in the spring. This snow storm is being caused by a woman named Elsa. She is just here to look for her sister, but I believe her sister is in her land, called Arendelle. The storm will stop here once Elsa leaves, but we need to help her get her sister back from whoever took her. Which requires going to Arendelle with a magic bean that Elsa has." Emma paused to judge the reactions of the people in the room. Most people still stared at her expectantly. A few people turned to talk to the people around them. Killian patted her leg from where he was sitting, giving her a 'you're doing fine' look.

The sides of her lips curled up in a slight smile at him before she continued. "So we're obviously going to need some back up for this, because we don't know how powerful the person holding her might be. We don't really know much about this land, other than what Elsa can tell us, so we have to be prepared. I know this is a huge sacrifice for anyone to leave their home or family, even for a short time, but if you feel like you can volunteer in a search party, and you feel like you have something to add, it would be much appreciated if you would join me. This isn't just to help Elsa, though that would still be a good reason by itself, this is to help the whole town. Think about if you were separated from a loved one. Would you appreciate people helping to get them back? I can't promise anything, of course it's a risk, but if enough of us go, I'd like to believe that we'll all stay safe and return in only a short time." Emma paused again. The room was starting to get a little chaotic as everyone began to talk to each other. "I'll leave everyone to think about it. If you decide to, come back here, prepared to leave, by 5 pm sharp. Thank you everyone for listening!" Emma yelled over the crowd.

Killian took her hand and helped her down from the chair. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in for a hug. "Good job, love. That was perfect," He said, his lips brushing her ear.

Mary Margaret came over as Killian released her, giving her an awkward, one armed hug. The baby was in her other arm. "Emma you have to be careful. I can't believe you're going on another journey so soon."

"I'll be fine," Emma said, "But tell David he has to stay. I know he'll want to come, but he's not allowed to. You both need to spend every moment you can with Neal. You can't get those moments back you know."

She hugged Emma again. "Oh, Emma. I know, believe me. But you'll be back soon, right?"

Emma nodded. "I'm hoping to get in and out as fast as we can."

Next Henry came over. Uh oh. She knew what was coming. "Mom, I'm coming."

"Henry, I don't even know what to expect. It might be dangerous."

Henry crossed his arms. "You told Mary Margaret that David couldn't come because he shouldn't spend a day away from his baby because he couldn't get those days back. I've already spent most of my life away from you, and you want us to be apart even more days?"

Emma frowned. That was cold. "Henry, you know that's not fair."

"It's true. I want to help. I want a shot at being a real hero. Please?"

Killian stepped it. "You know you can't protect him forever. The lad's getting older; he's pretty good with a sword too. He needs to get out there at some point."

Emma glared at him. That traitor. "Regina is going to kill me for this. You have to agree to do whatever I tell you. No arguing, understood?"

Henry hugged her tightly. "Thanks mom!"

Emma shook her head. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this."

Killian snaked his arm around her waist. "It's the right choice, Swan. He's growing up."

"Well, we'll see who else decides to help. Until then, we should probably get packing," Emma said, walking up stairs with Killian on one side, and Henry on the other.


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while. Life has been pretty crazy lately. And now I'm sick and tired, but hopefully I'll be able to update more. Thanks again for reading and reviewing!**

The afternoon was slightly chaotic. As Emma was trying to figure out what to pack, Killian and Henry were asking her about what they should pack, and people kept coming in to ask questions about what the plans were. Killian did his best to appease the visitors so Emma was able to think about what she had to bring.

She really had no idea what to expect in Arendelle. No one knew what time period it was even in, as Elsa hadn't been there in hundreds of years. She figured they best bring a variety of things, just in case. She stuffed jackets and jeans and tshirts and sweaters into her suitcase. She also slid her gun into the side as a last minute thought. Maybe it would be useful. Who knew what kind of place Arendelle had become since Elsa had lived there. She also found time to talk to Granny about food, just in case there was nothing there. Granny agreed to pack a box, as she said, it was the least she could do.

As it got to be closer and closer to five, she started to freak out. Her bag was ready to go, so all that was left to do was wait. She was pacing the room when Killian walked in. He knocked, but she didn't hear him so he just slid in quietly. "Emma, love?" He sounded concerned.

Emma spun around. "Sorry I didn't see you come in. You could have knocked."

He walked over until he was close enough to wrap his arms around her. "Emma, you're not usually this anxious. You are so good at dealing with crazy situations. There is no need be as worried as you seem to be."

Emma shuddered, actually resting her cheek against Killian's chest. "I never have to plan for things like this…and lead a group. I work by myself."

He rubbed her back, surprised she was letting him hold her at all. He still wasn't used to that. "You are a great leader, love. You might not know it, but you are."

"I'm just so worried something will go wrong and it will be my fault," Emma sighed.

"No one would blame you. We're all going to try our best, and that's all any of us can do. It's not your responsibility to make sure everything goes perfectly." He brushed her hair off her face lightly and she turned her face to look at him. "Besides, I'll be right there with you the whole time, love."

Emma turned her head up, reaching to touch her lips to his, just briefly. "Thank you."

He smiled. "I'm here for the long run, love. Start expecting me to stick with you."

She stepped back, taking his hand in hers, and picking up her luggage in the other. She took a deep breath. "Ready to go then?"

He nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Hand in hand, they walked out of the room, down the stairs, and into the diner.

At five o'clock, there were nine of them in the diner. Mary Margaret and David were standing off to the side with baby Neal to see them off, and Emma, Killian, Henry, Regina, Belle, and Rumple stood in the center, surrounded by bags of supplies.

"Thank you all for coming," Emma said loudly. "I seriously can't thank you enough."

Belle stepped forward. "Rumple isn't coming with us, he's going to stay to protect the town while we're all gone." The whole room seemed to raise their eyebrows. The newlyweds were going to separate so soon after marriage? Rumple didn't look like he completely agreed with the plan, but it was obvious they had talked about it.

Emma was surprised to see Regina there. She met her eyes and raised her eyebrows, but Regina just stared back, not quite in a friendly way, but also not angrily.

"Well, if everyone's ready, we should probably get going." Emma said.

Mary Margaret stepped forward, a box in her hand. "Emma, I know you have no idea what to expect in this other land, but there's bound to be some sort of ball you have to attend. So I brought you this. It was mine."

Emma took the box, gingerly opening it to reveal a satiny blue dress. She brushed her fingers across the fabric, mesmerized. "It's so beautiful. Thanks mom." Mary Margaret wrapped her arms around Emma, David joining the hug circle with the baby. Emma hugged them back tightly. "I'll be home soon, don't worry."

"I wish I could go with you," David told her. "To protect you."

Emma smiled slightly. "You need to stay with your kid. Don't worry, I can handle myself."

With one last hug from Mary Margaret and David to everyone in the room, Emma, Killian, Henry, Belle, and Regina set out onto the street to go meet Elsa.

A few minutes down the road, a man's voice came from the side of the road. "Sorry I'm late, wait for me!" All heads spun around to reveal Robin walking toward them.

Regina froze, staring at him in disbelief. "You're coming?"

He joined the group, turning to Emma. "Of course. Roland has his mother now, and this was the least I could do to repay you for brining Marian back to us."

Emma threw a worried glance toward Regina, but turned to give Robin a sincere thank you and a shrug before the group headed off down the road once again in silence.


End file.
